Classical singer Marian Anderson was one of the all-time greats — both as an artist, and as a cultural figure who broke down racial barriers. She is best known for performing at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, after she was denied permission to sing for an integrated audience at Washington’s DAR Constitution Hall.

Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United States and Europe between 1925 and 1965. Anderson was an important figure in the struggle for African-American artists to overcome racial prejudice in the United States during the mid-twentieth century.

Marian Anderson was an opera singer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. But with talent and perseverance she became the first African American to perform as a member of the New York Metropolitan Opera. She was also the first African American to perform at the White House, invited by Eleanor Roosevelt.

That distinction belongs to the world-famous contralto Marian Anderson, whose performance at the Lincoln Memorial on April 9, 1939, made a compelling case for the transformative power of music, and in a place typically associated with the power of words.

The Lincoln Memorial concert made Anderson an international celebrity. It overshadowed the rest of her long life as a performer — she was 96 when she died in 1993. Eventually she did sing at Constitution Hall. By that time, the DAR had apologized and changed its rules.

On April 9, 1939, American contralto Marian Anderson (1897-1993) stood as a beacon of hope for a country being torn apart by racial strife. Anderson’s legendary performance at the Lincoln Memorial on that Easter Sunday exists in the annals of American history as a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights movement.

Eighty years ago Tuesday, contralto singer Marian Anderson performed on the steps on the Lincoln Memorial, after being refused the largest indoor stage in Washington because she was black. It was a remarkable moment in civil rights and U.S. history.

The Daughters of the American Revolution proudly practices a non-discrimination policy and encourages and celebrates diversity in our organization. However, in 1939, opera singer Marian Anderson was denied the opportunity to perform in DAR Constitution Hall because of her race.

The Baby Contralto

Opera singer

the Lincoln Memorial

I have a dream

But it is almost impossible to imagine Mahalia Jackson having been anywhere other than center stage at the historic March on Washington on August 28, 1963, where she not only performed as the lead-in to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Marian Anderson, (born February 27, 1897, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died April 8, 1993, Portland, Oregon), American singer, one of the finest contraltos of her time.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt helped hold the concert at Lincoln Memorial, on federal property. The Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, performance was attended by 75,000.

Camilla Williams was an American soprano who regularly performed around the world. She was the first African-American to receive a regular contract with a major American opera company — the New York City Opera — as well as the first African-American to sing a major role with the Vienna State Opera.

At the Met this season, the company said there are 36 black singers on the roster, out of a total of 368.

On January 7, 1955, contralto Marian Anderson at long last made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Ulrica in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, becoming the first African American artist to sing a leading role at the Met.

Born A Slave, Street Performer Was First Black Recording Artist In 1890, George Washington Johnson became the first African-American to make commercial records. The Library of Congress is now adding Johnson’s “The Laughing Song” to the National Recording Registry.